Metaphysics

by Aristotle, John H. McMahin

Overview

Metaphysics is the study of existence at the highest level of generality. It is traditionally characterised as the study of "being qua being" - of being in general rather than specifically of this or that sort. Accordingly, the salient task of the field is to achieve a clearer understanding of the concepts and principles of being, existence, and reality. As such, metaphysics has been an established sector of philosophy since the time of Aristotle's initial systematisation of the subject in the fourth century B.C.E.In line with tradition, distinguished philosopher Nicholas Rescher presents key topics that have always figured on the agenda of metaphysics: the nature and rationale of existence, the differentiation of what is actual from the unreal and mere possibility, and the prospects and limits of our knowledge of the real. Though a work of philosophical sophistication and logical rigour, "Metaphysics" displays a clarity of exposition that makes it suitable for use as a text or supplementary reader in upper-class undergraduate and graduate philosophy courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879756710
Publisher:	Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date:	06/01/1991
Series:	Great Books in Philosophy
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

C. D. C. Reeve is Delta Kappa Epsilon Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. His recent books include Action, Contemplation, and Happiness: An Essay on Aristotle (2012), Blindness and Reorientation: Problems in Plato’s Republic (2012), and Aristotle on Practical Wisdom: Nicomachean Ethics Book VI (2013). He has translated Plato's Cratylus (1997), Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito (2002), Republic (2004), and Meno (2006), as well as Aristotle's Politics (1998) and Nicomachean Ethics (2015).

Table of Contents

Introduction; Translation; Commentary; Notes on the Text and Translation; Bibliography; Glossaries; Indexes.

Editorial Reviews

"C. D. C. Reeve adds to his already remarkable series of translations of Plato and Aristotle another stellar accomplishment: a full translation of Aristotle's daunting Metaphysics. He has managed to present Aristotle’s often ungainly Greek into perfectly flowing English syntax without sacrificing the core meaning of the text. Any translator of Aristotle will recognize what an impressive achievement this is. All readers will benefit from the over 1,600 explicative notes accompanying the translation: Reeve has a discerning eye for determining what requires amplification for the purposes of understanding and an admirable gift for saying just as much as needs to be said in order to achieve it."
—Christopher Shields, George N. Shuster Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

"C. D. C. Reeve's new translation of Aristotle's Metaphysics is a very welcome tool for students, teachers, and scholarly readers. This accurate translation comes with a wealth of notes that explain Aristotle's thought or refer to or quote parallel passages from other parts of the Metaphysics or other Aristotelian works."
—Mirjam E. Kotwick, University of Cincinnati, in Ancient Philosophy

"Reeve's emendations and translations are philosophically sensitive and he scrupulously offers the alternatives in his notes. I can't fault his translation strategy, which balances literalism and readability without sacrificing accuracy and empowers readers to evaluate his choices. The interpretive notes Reeve offers are useful, but are not intended to serve as a full commentary. They will, however, help students and provide a rich resource of inspiration for researchers. The learning, skill and range exhibited by Reeve are astonishing. In short, if you teach or research Aristotle, Reeve offers a valuable addition to the English-language resources on the Metaphysics."
—Matthew Duncombe, University of Nottingham, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher

"The translator is to be commended for the scholarly and painstaking service which he has rendered to one of the great philosophic masterpieces of all times."
—Paul Helsel

Paul Helsel

"Mr. Hope translates every term in as many ways as are required by different contexts and by Aristotle's own intended meanings, thereby producing a version that is immeasurably more intelligible than one based on the assumption that every Greek word must be rendered by a single English equivalent."
—Ben Ray Redman

Ben Ray Redman